The 17-year-old young woman, who was involved in a violent altercation in Mauricie last summer, died the day after she was granted parole, the coroner’s inquest released on Tuesday revealed.
Éléonore Genest was on her way to an appointment when she drove her 2008 Hyundai Accent along Route 153 in the township of Lac-aux-Sables at around 3:30 p.m. on August 9.
250 meters before the Chemin Saint-Alphonse, the young driver left her lane, while a tractor with logs approached in the opposite direction.
By the time the truck driver applied the brakes, it was already too late. Éléonore’s vehicle struck the tractor, which then towed it.
His death was instantaneous, writes coroner Me Sophie Régnière.
“A fire broke out between the two vehicles, which quickly spread to the passenger compartment of the car,” adds Sophie Régnière. After the fire, the fire brigade freed Ms. Genest from her car with the rescue tongs. »
Five months after the tragedy, the coroner cannot say explicitly why the young woman deviated from her path.
However, the inexperience of the driver should be taken into account. The one who left her parents and two sisters behind got her probationary license the day before the tragedy.
“On August 9, she was able to drive alone for the first time,” says the coroner’s report.
We cannot rule out that Éléonore Genest, who suffered from attention deficit disorder, was distracted by something that the police investigation could not determine.
Note that her phone did not contain a SIM card, so she was unable to text or call at the time.
The thesis of the voluntary gesture is not taken into account.
“Ms Genest went through an important and stimulating phase in her life: her entry into CEGEP and her first home,” says forensic pathologist Sophie Régnière.
The death of the young woman had triggered a shock wave in the 1,300-strong community of Lac-aux-Sables.
City officials, who may also act as first responders, went to the scene to help the victim.
“Some people had posted a photo of a red heart on Facebook in solidarity.”